Shaker conveyer



Feb. 23, 1954 E. R. BERGMANN ETAL 2,670,072

SHAKER CONVEYER Filed March lO, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 L Javea fors i7i/ms! jz fefgma/Wf Mii/iam Z0'. loane y? arizefy Feb. Z3, 1954 E. R.BERGMANN ETAL 2,670,072

SHAKER CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1951 E. R. BERGMANN ETAL 2,670,072

Feb. 23, 1954 SHAKER CONVVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March l0, 1951fans lfm/m Feb. 23, 1954 E. R. BERGMANN ETAL 2,670,072

SHAKER CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March l0, 1951 Feb 23, 1954 E. R.BERGMANN ETAL 2,670,072

SHAKER CONVEYER Filed March 10, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 406 45 44 z'l/za'mMjloane KW if; q: fiar/geg E. R. BERGMANN ETAL Feb. 23, 1954 Filed March1o, 1951 s wm. QR @u www@ Qu. MN

E 1: 0N. Nk NN @n www mw www mmm@ Patented Feb. 23, 1954 SHAKERCONVEYER' Ernst R. Bergmann and William W. SloanaChicago,Ill-.,assignorsf to Goodman Manufacturing Company; Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application'March` 10, 1951,Y Serial-No. 214,934

. 4 Claims. l This invention relates to improvements in. ex-

tensible feeding heads for shaker conveyors,y and more particularly tosluing mechanisms for Vsuch devices.

The principal object of the invention is to prof vide a simple,efficientA and positively' actuated draft mechanism associated with the.conveyor and operated by the shaking motion of the lat.- ter, forselectively drawing inflexible cables suit?- .ably anchored to.abutments at-` opposite. sides ofV tion at all times, regardless ofwhether: thefeeds ing; head is being actuated.

Other objects of theinventionwill appeaztfrom time to time as thefollowing, description pro-1V ceeds'.

The invention may be bestV understood by ref;-l erence to theaccompanyingv drawings',` in which:

Figure 1 isa plan view showingv ashaker con.- veyor installed in theworking room of a mine, and illustrating t-he method of use of a sluin-gmechanism in accordance with, the invention;.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side View ofV the front end of the conveyorshown inFigu-re l, with parts broken away;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

, Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan View of the main parts of the sluingmechanism; Y Y,

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view ofv therdrum`- windingmechanismforming; aprincipal; part of the invention, with parts broken awayvgtoshow' certain details thereof;

Figure 6 is a. detailedv sectiontaken-online. 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an` explodedperspective View of. partof theclutch employed.in the mechanism;

Figure 8 isan enlarged end View ofthe Ymanuali control and guidemeansadapted for attachment` to the conveyor;I

Figure 9 is a plan view of the attachment shown in Figures, withzpartsshowninsection; and A,

Lil

Figure 1G is a fragmentary section of the one-- Way clutch mechanism.

Referring now to4 details of the embodiment of my invention shown in thedrawings, Figure 1 shows a main trough Ill of a shaker conveyor,connected through a swivel or articulated joint I I to a trough sectionI2 having a loader head indicated at I 3 connected at its forward orinby end. The trough ID .is reciprocably driven as usual by a shakerdrive generally indicated 9.

The swivel or articulated joint I I is of the kind commonly employed inshaker conveyors, including a base I4 having sockets I5, I5 at opposite4ends of` a cross bar I6 for reception of mine jacks (not shown) toanchor said base to the ground. The cross bar IS also has a pair ofroller supports I'I, I'I onV which the swivel joint II is slidablymounted, as usual, to permit the usual shaking motion of the main troughI0 and its swivel connection relative to the anchored base IE. Furtherdetails of the swivel II and its base I4 and roller supports I'I, Ilneed not be shown nor described, as they form no part of the presentinvention, excepting to point out that a bracket I9 is fixed to thecross bar I6 of the base, having a link 20 pivotally connected thereto,which extends forwardly to form part of the actuating means for thesluing mechanism, as will presently be described.

The loading head I3 is also of a well-known type commonly known as aduckbill, wherein an extensible trough 2I having a shovel 22 xedon itsfront or inbyend, is telescopically mounted with respect to the troughI2. A feeder head 23 is secured to the front end of the trough I2 and.is adapted to ride on the extensible trough 2I intermediate its endsduring telescopic movement of the two troughs. The extensible trough 2Iis supported on the ground at its front end by the shovel 22 and at itsrear end by an upright support 24 on a shoe 25. The latter trough isthus. supported in frictional engagement with the ground, so as to tendto remain stationary excepting when engaged by grip blocks 2E, 25carried on the feeder head 23. The relative extension or retraction ofthe two troughs I2 and 2I is controlled as usual by manipulation of thegrip blocks 26 in proper timed relation to the shaker motion of troughI2. The gripping action of blocks 26 may be manually controlled throughany well-known linkage mechanism von the feeder head,V which need not bedescribed nor shown in further detail as it forms no part of the presentinvention.

Referring now more particularly to' the details 3 of the sluingmechanism, a pair of take-up or winding drums 21 are mounted at oppositesides of a supporting frame 28, fixed to an intermediate trough section23. In the form shown herein, the latter trough section forms part ofthe trough l2 and is interposed in the conveyor trough line between theupper swivel joint i l and that forward portion of the trough I2 onwhich the extensible trough 2l is telescopically mounted. Theintermediate trough section 29 is detachably connected at its rear endto the swivel joint H by eyes 3i) and bolts 3 i and at its front end tothe main part of the trough section i2 by eyes 32 and bolts 33, in themanner usually employed for connecting adjacent trough sections.

The supporting frame 28 for the winding drums 21 includes a bottom plate34 in spaced relation beneath the intermediate trough section 29 andextending beyond the latter at opposite sides thereof, and a top plate35 fixed to and extending from the opposite sidewalls of said troughsection.

Details of the winding drums 21' and their actuating meclianism areshown in Figures 3 to '7. Each winding drum has a sluing cable 36 woundthereon, with a free end adapted to be extended for anchoring to a xedabutment at one side of the conveyor, so as to swing the front end ofthe feeder head and associated parts of the conveyor bodily about theswivel joint il when said drum is driven positively in the properdirection.

The link 26 which is pivoted at its rear end to the anchored cross bari6 of swivel il, as previously described, has its front end pivoted toan elongated rack bar 31, slidably mounted longitudinally of thesupporting frame 26 beneath and centrally of the intermediate troughsection 29. Said rack bar has a pair of racks 3d, 538 along oppositesides thereof, having toothed engagement with idler p-inions 39, 39pivotally supported on frame z at opposite sides of the rack bar 31.Each of the pinions engages similar gear sectors 46 on a drive disc idasurrounding a hub portion 136D of an annular drive member 3i, keyed onthe lower end of a drive sleeve 32. The drive member 4I is driven fromdrive disc da through a loadlimiting device, herein consisting of anadjustable friction band im carried by the drive disc and engaging theperiphery of said drive member.

Each drive sleeve is rotatably mounted on bearings t3, 46 at the upperand lower ends of an upright supporting shaft 45, suitably xed at itsupper and lower ends in the top plate 35 and th bottom plate 3ft offrame 28. i

The drive sleeve of each of the two winding mechanisms at opposite sidesof the frame 2B has a clutch sleeve l5 rotatably mounted thereon with apair of vertically spaced bearings 41, 41. The clutch sleeve d haswinding drum 21 rotatably mounted on its upper end, with annularbearings d8, i8 interposed therebetween.

The clutch sleeve @d is driven from drive sleeve 42 by a one-way clutchi9 located between the spaced outer friction bearings 41, 41. Thisoneway clutch may be of any suitable construction; in the form shown inFigure consisting of a plurality of sprags 55 surrounding the drivesleeve 42. These sprags are arranged to be rocked into frictionaldriving engagement with the clutch sleeve 46 only when the drive sleeved2 is being rotated in the direction to wind its sluing cable 36 on thedrum 21. The sprags 56 are normally held in approximate circumferentialalignment by a pair of continuous annular coil springs 5I passingthrough grooves 52 on the upper and lower faces of the sprags. The formof one-way clutch mechanism including sprags 50 is of a type well knownin the art so further details thereof need not be described herein.

The clutch sleeve 46 has a plurality of elongated clutch teeth 53projecting axially at its lower end which engage in apertures 54 formedin a clutch disc 55. The latter disc has vertical sliding movement onthe upper hub 56 of the drive member 4I. Said clutch disc has aplurality of clutch teeth 51 on its upper face adapted for engagementwith clutch teeth 58 on the lower face of drum 21 when said clutch discis shifted to its uppermost position, through a clutch shiftingmechanism which will hereinafter be more fully described.

The clutch sleeve 46 also has an annular collar 59 formed integrallytherewith of slightly less diameter than the clutch teeth 58 on thedrum. A friction disc of suitable material, such as asbestos ber, isinterposed between the collar 59 and the under face of the drum, so thatsaid drum is frictionally engaged by disc 60 at al1 times.

Yielding brake means are also provided for holding the drum againstunwinding and urging the latter into frictional engagement with thefriction disc 68. In the form shown, this brake means consists offriction pads 6l, herein two in number, each carried on a stem 62,yieldably urged against the upper face of the drum as by a coil spring63 in an auxiliary housing 64 mounted on the top plate 35.

The two clutch discs 55 for the drums 21 on opposite sides of theconveyor are each shifted by a shifter fork 90, including arms 65, 65xed to a pivot rod B6 and having shifter members 61, 61 at their endsengaged in a groove 68 in the periphery of said clutch discs. Each ofsaid pivot rods 66 is mounted for rocking movement on ears 68., 69,herein fixed to the outer sides of the trough. In the form shown herein,the two pivot rods 66 are fixed at their forward ends to tubular torsionrods 10 which extend forwardly along opposite sides of the troughsection I2 to a manual control mechanism 1| on the feeder head 23,adjacent the control devices for extending or retracting the extensibletrough 2 I. The tubular rods 10 are suitably supported for rotation inbearing supports 12 mounted on said feeder head. Bell cranks 13 arefixed on the front ends of said tubular rods. Said bell cranks each hasan outwardly extending arm 14 pivotally connected by a link 15 to an arm16 of an upstanding control lever 11 pivotally mounted at one side ofthe feeder head. Said bell cranks also have downwardly extending arms18, which are pivotally connected to opposite ends of a tie rod 19. Thearrangement just described provides interlocking control means whichpermits actuation of the positive clutch discs 55 by manipulating eitherone of the two control levers 11, 11 at opposite sides of the feederheadybut insures unclutching of one winding drum whenever the other drumis in positive clutched engagement with its respective drive sleeve.-

Each of the sluing cables 36 is preferably trained from its respectivewinding drum 21 over two idler sheaves 8|, `8| mounted toward the frontof frame 28 so as to lead said cable into an opening 82 cut away fromthe outer side of the tubular torsion rod 18. Each cable is then carriedto the front end of its rod, and is trained over two idler sheaves 83,84 on the feeder head, arranged to permit said cable to be extended awayfrom the 'feeder head at any desired angle. Inl

'at opposite sides ofthe conveyor.

'connect said auxiliary frames together for Iadditional support.

The use and operation of the apparatus "-is as follows:

The conveyor is set upin a mine in the usual manner with the 'shovel 2'2of extensible'trough 2| in position to load out loose material brokenldown Afrom the Working face, the base I4 of the swivel joint ll jackedto the mine floor,and`the main trough line Al leading to a suitablepoint of discharge. vThe sluingfcables -'36, 36 are anchored to suitableabutments, such as mine jacks, Said cables may be disposed at varyingangles to lthe conveyor, depending upon mining conditions.

The feeder head 23 is operated as usual 'to gather up the loose materialby gradual extension of the extensible trough 2|, controlled in theusual manner 'bythe manipulation of grip blocks 26 on said feeder head.During reciprocation of the conveyor, the rack bar 31 is held stationarydue to its pivetal connection to the anchored cross bar I6, on which theswivel joint li is slidably mounted, while thefrarne 28 vcarried on theintermediate trough section 29 reciprocates with the main trough line ofthe conveyor. This relative motion between the rack bar and the troughsection causes oscillation of the idler pinions 38 and, through saidpinions, the gear sectors 40, drive discs 40a, drive members 4! anddrive sleeves 42 are oscillated about their respective upright axes. Theload limit devices 41a protect the drive mechanism against damage incase of excessive loads on the two drum driving mechanisms. Theoscillating motion of the drive sleeves 42 is transformed by one-wayclutches 49 into intermittent one-way rotation of the clutch sleeve 46,in the direction tending to wind the sluing cables 3G on theirrespective drums 21.

The brake pads 6l are set with relatively light yielding engagement withthe drums 21 sucient to resist unwinding thereof, but the friction discs66 carried on the clutch sleeves 46 are of larger area and are designedto exert greater torque on the drums, suicient to overcome the brakingeffect of brake pads 6I, and tend to rotate the drums with enough torqueto take in any slack in the cables. This frictional torque effect on thedrums is not, however, sufficient to slue the conveyor or interfere withthe normal shaking motion of the latter.

Therefore, when the clutch discs at both sides of the sluing mechanismare in intermediate position, unclutched from positive drivingconnection with their respective drums, the sluing cables 36 will beautomatically maintained in taut condition while the conveyor proceedsto operate with its loader head i3 disposed in one angular positionrelative to the swivel ll.

When it is desired to shift the loader head laterally in one directionor the other, the operator manipulates either one of the interlockedcontrol levers 11 so as to engage the clutch disc 55 on the side towardwhich he desires to slue the V*louder ineen. Thereupon, ane cable drum22.1 that side Will `be "positively fdriv'en y-throu' intermittentone-wafy'rtation of its fclutchsleeve 46, whilethe oppositedrum'wouldstill be disengaged from positive' drlive. "I-heactuatinglink250 with its rack bar 31 'swings laterally with fthe 'swivellingloading'e'n'd of the 'conveyor tola'cco'm'- modate itselfto'all'angularpositions ofthe latter.

When it is desired to slue'the Ifeeder lhead the opposite direction,theoperato'r manipulates either of the controllevers 11 1in ltheopposite vdirection. The levers are-.restored jitc theirintermediateunclutching position to discontinue -f'sluing rin either direction. v

It will no'w Abe understood "that the sluing cables 36 are automaticallytaken 11p-'and maintained in that` condition at all'times that theconveyor is beingreciprocated-,and also that oneo'r the Vother ofsaidfsluing cables-`can be `positively drawn in rat will to slue theswivelli'ng lloadi'n'g end of the conveyor in either direction fas'desired. Power for this sluing 'action is 'derived directly from the4reciprocating motion of the -conveyor trough as a whole. -A morepositive sluing motion is assured than `in sluing V'devices kpreviouslyproposedwhereinthe sluing action is wholly dependent upon relative-telescopicmove- -ment between the extensible trough -2I and 'theadjacent trough section |52 fd-uringthe feeding/operation, whichmovement in turn fis "dependent upon the -frictional resistance of the`ex'tensible trough 2i with respectto the ground, when-itis releasedfrom the grip blocks of `fthe -fe'ederfhead during forwardor.reversel'stroke'of"the conveyor. Accordingly, thesluing mechanismoffthe lp'resent invention is operable independently fof 'the 'feederhead; in fact, it `'can be employed withishaker conveyors having noextensible feeder head.

rThe arrangement whereby the Winding drums and their associated drivingdevices are mounted on the detachable intermediate trough section 29facilitates the assembly of the sluing mechanism with a conventionalshaker conveyor structure, and also permits the intermediate troughsection with the sluing mechanism to be bodily removed from the troughline for repairs, or when said sluing mechanism is not needed in aparticular shaker conveyor set-up.

The arrangement whereby the sluing cables 36 are led forwardly from theWinding drums to be paid out or drawn in from the feeder head 23 notonly increases the emciency of the sluing cables but protects the cablesagainst fouling where they pass along opposite sides of the trough.Moreover, the extension of the clutch control mechanism to the controllevers 'I1 on the feeder head places said control levers closelyadjacent the hand levers which control the operation of the feeder head,so as to facilitate all the feeding operations of the shaker conveyor byone operator.

rSince the windingdrums 21 and the frame 28, upon which they aresupported, are mounted on the intermediate trough section 29, whichtrough section is detachably connectable in the trough line, aspreviously described. It will be noted that the entire intermediatetrough section can be inserted in or removed from the trough line atwill. Also the auxiliary frames 86, which carry the control lever 11,and the idler sheaves 83, 84, over which the sluing cables are paid outfrom opposite sides of the frame, can be attached to or disconnectedfrom the feeder head 23 at will. Accordingly, the entire sluingmechanism disclosed herein may be readily applied as attachmentsV to aconventional shaker conveyor construction. Also the sluing mechanism canbe removed from a conventional shaker conveyor when it is not required,Without affecting the normal operation of the conveyor.

Although we have shown and described certain embodiments of ourinvention, it will be understood that we do not wish to be limited tothe exact construction shown and described, but that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1 In a shaker conveyor having a laterally swivelling reciprocabletrough, an anchoring support affording reciprocable movement of theswivelled joint, an extensible trough telescopically mounted at the endof said reciprocable trough line having a slideable ground supportingshoe at its inner end. feeder mechanism for ccntrolling relativetelescopic movement of said troughs connected to the reciprocable troughand slideably supported on said extensible trough intermediate the endsof the latter, the combination of a pair of winding drums mounted on theswivelling portion of the reciprocable trough intermediate theswivelling joint of the latter and the limit of inward telescopingmovement of the extensible trough, each of said winding drums havingsluing cables wound independently thereon adapted for connection to nxedabutments at opposite sides of said troughs, a rotatable drive memberfor each of said drums, a drive link means pivotally connected at oneend to said .swivelling trough portion and at the other end to saidanchoring support for rotating said drive members in response tomovement of said swivelling trough relative to said anchoring support,and one-way clutch means affording selective positive drivingconnections between each of said drive members and their respectivedrums.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the means pivotallyconnected to the anchor support consists of a link connected at one endto said anchor support and having a rack bar pivoted on its other endand slideably.mount ed on the swivelling end of the reciprocable trough,for engagement with said drive members.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein manual control meansfor the clutch means includes manually operable levers mounted on thefeeder mechanism, a pair of shafts extending longitudinally of thereciprocable'trough, and axially movable by said levers to actuate theclutch means.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein guide sheaves forpaying out the sluing cables are mounted on the feeder mechanism, andthe shafts are tubular, with the sluing cables threaded therethrough toprovide guide means from adjacent the winding drums to the guide sheaveson the feeder mechanism.

ERNST R. BERGMANN. WILLIAM W. SLOANE'.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,043,747 Getty June 9, 1936 2,318,712 Pratt May 1l, 19432,358,416 Pratt Sept. 19, 1944 2,360,169 Sloane Oct. 10, 1944 2,362,844Nyborg Nov. 14, 1944

